"Dump Truck Is What I Want...Where Do I Start"

My favorite truck

 

nice truck but it needs floats on the front or another tag

 

Well I did my air brake course and passed...so I now have the z endorsment.

 

Whats up, Im from Ontario too, all you need to drive a dump truck is a dz licsense as long as you don't carry a trailer with it, to carry a pup trailer you will need you're az, you can always upgrade later if anything cause the az course is muck more expensive. You should buy a truck where you can afford to pay for it, plate, and have it on the road and have around $20,000 let to operate untill you get a pay check. Gravel work usually pays quicker than excavating, exscavating usually a very minimum of 30days, but usually longer, and we can use between $100-300 a day in fuel and get paid $70-75/hr. 300 would be a by the load job and would pay more. Repairs are expensive and also frequent in older trucks. Tires go on a regular. Truck wise you would need to have the proper specs--preferably 400hp min, at leaset a minimum of 18.5ft box, 20,000 front axle, 20,000lift axle, and 46,000rears. Those are the most important. If i were you id get a steel box unless you had guaranteed permanent gravle work, and even still when gravel is slow you would want a steel box to pick up work elsewhere, they dont weigh that much more, youll also want a 40-50 ton hoist. Other than that you'll need to get a cvor(just apply at driver office) and when you get the truck on the road you'll need to take it to one of the mto weigh scales at the sides of the highway for them to measure the axles and give you you're legal load limit. My main advice it to do you're research, and get a truck that will hold its value in case you decide to make a early exit. Things are getting rougher because there are soo many new trucks on the road. And just for youre info only expect to take home about 35% of what you make, could be higher could be lower, depends on youre luck with youre truck. I have tried to be as thourough with this as i could cause i had no one to help me when i started, and it can get tricky trying to figure out what is rquired. Hope this was helpful and good luck.

 

Thanks... for the Info...and tips. How does the gravel biz work?? do you set up a accout with the pits..or does the contractor pay for the gravel and you just do the driving?? Also how does the ticket or token thing work ?

 

This thing looks like nothing but a dollied up POS to me.



Notice the low dump bed that they did a lousy job of extending up. It dosen't look like there is any support on that upper part. A loader would tear that up in a New York minute.

I really think this thing was a tractor with a light 12,000 front axle and a single frame that someone did a botched up job of making a dump truck out of. Then They prettied it up with chrome, chicken lights, and a fancy paint job.

They didn't even bother to put a cab shield on it. Not to mention those stacks would get caught on something the first time you were on a construction site.

This is some thing that this landscaper put together so he could make a big show out of delivering mulch.

 

You do have an eye for the obvious.

One should be careful of buying a dumptruck that was converted to dump use from a road tractor. Often times...the conversion is less than sturdy enough for the job you're wanting it to do.

I wouldn't want to try and load that Pete alongside the road with a bobcat or other loader of that type. Sure would scar up all the fancy chrome and paint...quick like.

Come to think about it...I wouldn't want to haul mulch with that Pete out of the landscape yards around here either. Sure wouldn't need that tag axle for mulch loads either.

 

Hello gear jam, whereabouts in the great white north are you. It seems like with the forest industry tanking up here that it would mean a slow down in other aspects too, such as construction so i wonder how busy you'd be especially with ten months of winter and two of road repairs. As far as looking to buy a truck before getting your licence maybe your getting a little ahead of yourself. You should consider driving for a year or 2, that way you'll see if you like it and if theres any money in it.

 

I'm near Bear Lake...I just have my air brakes...haven't gone for my road ticket yet.

I already own my own shop...Its big enough to put a full size tractor with a trailer In It if I like...Plus I'm a 1/2 ### mechanic and welder...so you see how the over head will be not too bad??. Its just that I'm done with working on construction as a Iron worker...too many years of being on my knees on cold steel and out In the hot sun...something like a hockey player LOL....My mind Is set...to get a Dump truck...and I'm not working for anyone...O/O Is the only way to go ,In my position.

I'm now wondering If I should be looking for just a tandem instead of a tri axial....I can get in to some tighter areas with the tandem...for soil and excavation work ...mulch deliveries etc.

 

ill have to agree that bed looks very cheap, like 1/8inch alum. flimsy stuff

the rest the pics are kinda hard to tell exactly how nice it really is...